NEWS: Rafaelli GIORDANO [Ralph JORDAN] Guilty of Second-Degree Murder, 1918, Bedford County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja and Donna Thomas Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/bedford/ _______________________________________________ SECOND DEGREE IS GIORDANO VERDICT Woodvale Furnishes Bedford County With Fourth Murder in a Few Years Special to the Tribune. Bedford, Sept. 9. - After a three days trial the jury in the case of the Commonwealth vs. Raffaelli Giordano, charged with the death of Guy Insalaca at Woodvale, Broad Top township, on January 2, rendered an unanimous verdict about 10 o'clock Saturday night, finding the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree. The jury retired about 5 o'clock Saturday afternoon and at 9 o'clock summoned Judge Woods for instruction. Within the hour they returned a verdict. Wm. Wallace Chisolm and E. M. Pennell attorneys for the defendant immediateil (sic) asked and were granted permission to file motions for a new trial and to assign reasons therefore within thirty days after notes of testimony have been transcribed. On the night of January 2, Guy Insalaca, an Italian, was shot and instantly killed while walking along the street in Woodvale with two brothers, who the following day made information against Giordano. A quarrel over money sometime previous, is thought to be the cause. The latter was discovered in hiding by Privates Schell and Murphy of the State Police, brought to Bedford, and after a hearing before Justice J. R. Blymyer, was placed in jail without bail, to await trial. The small village of Woodvale, which is in the coal region of Broad Top, had furnished Bedford county with four murder trials within the past three or four years, the first one compelling a resurvey of the line and giving the case to this county, although previous to that time Huntingdon county had collected the taxes and considered the village as their property. The prisoner, whose name in English is Ralph Jordan, is about 30 years of age, has a wife and small child. The murdered man left a widow and several small children. The sentence will not likely be pronounced for several weeks. Altoona Tribune, Tuesday, September 10, 1918, page 5